Budget Negotiations (2508)
There are storm clouds over the Imperial Villa on Tyrador IX. Not literally; it's actually a lovely day, in the middle of the main continent's crisp, windy winter. Leaves are dancing in the cloudless sky, et cetera.
No, the storm clouds are surrounding your supreme leader and dictator, His Imperial Majesty, Arcturus the First. He's grumpy about something, and his mood is infectious. Even if it wasn't, being aware of his temper's low simmer is absolutely a necessary survival instinct, and yours are well-honed.
Mengsk chomps on his cigar for the better part of two hours as the cards go back and forth; his demeanor is barely lightened by winning a couple well-contested hands, which is unlike him. A victory usually puts a smile on his face, but not today.
It's not until the first imperial bathroom break that you overhear a snippet of conversation between Warfield and Starke. Apparently, one of Mengsk's old lieutenants from the Sons went off on the royal presence during an audience, something about unfulfilled promises to his veterans. It's kept him in a foul mood for weeks, and now he's eyeing everyone like they're going to be the next to call him out. No one's heard from the ex-Son since.
[+5 Suspicion]
Moreover, your accustomed position in the catbird seat has been wholly usurped by Edmund Goddamn Duke, who is armored in smugness like a Siege Tank in neosteel. He's waited until just this moment to announce that Brontes is now officially ready for reclamation efforts; with all planetside and orbital hive clusters and hatcheries eliminated, all that's left is the mopping up. Alpha Squadron is already redeploying to the next trouble spot, and the rank-and-file Dominion Military is moving in to replace them on cleanup duty.
Okay, so, the Boss is cranky and Duke is gloating. Fantastic. You take a deep breath, review your supply of dirty jokes, and mentally crack your knuckles. It's gonna be a long night.
Just how much are you going to need to get this done, anyway?
[] 40% of the Dominion Budget
Ceding back some of Duke and Warfield's lost ground and making them less reliant on field income will be very popular among the inner circle, especially since it opens up some much-needed breathing room between your budget and Starke's.
(Gain 2 Leverage; 320 Resources per turn)
[] 45% of the Dominion Budget
Given the influx of income from the Vespene operations on Vardona and the restarting of the Megacomplex, everyone seems to think you'll be dialing back on your share of the tax receipts. This is about what is expected; despite being a percentage decrease, it actually does represent a net increase in overall income.
(360 Resources per turn)
[] 50% of the Dominion Budget
Of course, you could hold your ground. It's not like the demands on your department have gotten less numerous, after all; every completed project comes with one more unfinished project to work on next, if not more.
(Lose 2 Leverage; 400 Resources per turn)
[] 60% of the Dominion Budget
They want you to cut your budget? To hell with them; this sector is still a mess. All your enemies are too disorganized to pose an actual threat, and there's no meaningful domestic resistance for Security to curtail. Why don't they try sacrificing a little for once?
(Lose 4 Leverage; 480 Resources per turn)
What are you willing to promise?
[] An Actual Goddamn Fleet
Duke is by no means unappreciative of your efforts to get the Dylarian Shipyards back online, but he really wants the entire fleet up and running again, and yesterday. No amount of offense you take at his peremptory tone can do away with the expansiveness of his expectations, but then, if you actually deliver, think of all the favors he'll owe you.
(Gain 2 Leverage; must complete
Dylar IV: Dylarian Shipyards (Phase 2) and
Brontes: Refloating the Fleet (Phase 2) by the end of Q4 2508)
[] The Sludge Must Flow
Warfield, as usual, is more conscious of the nuts and bolts than his grandiose colleague. He knows that New Folsom can't actually sustain the Dominion's need for endureum indefinitely, and it won't be able to expand its operations, either, given the mass prisoner release that just occurred. As such, Mar Sara needs to get back up and running, stat.
(Gain 1 Leverage; must complete
Mar Sara: Endureum Extraction Operations (Phase 1) by the end of Q4 2508)
[] A Nice Chat Over Lunch
Finally, there's Starke. Bland, unreadable Starke. All he wants from you is a casual sit-down in a good restaurant. You hardly know each other, after all. Where's the harm in making a new friend?
(Gain 1 Leverage; must complete
Vardona: Have a Talk with Director Starke by the end of Q4 2508)
And what are you looking to gain?
[] Military Surplus Redux
Despite his demands, Duke doesn't really have anything new to bring to the table, just warehouses full of stuff. Of course, since it's all stuff you actually genuinely need, it's hard to begrudge him his complacency.
(Lose 1 Leverage; reduce necessary Progress for all
Planetary Reconstruction phases by 100)
[] Space Defenders
It sounds like the Imperial Guard is getting a little bored, judging by how Warfield is prepared to offer a wide-reaching security guarantee for all, yes
all, of your space projects. Apparently his ranks have expanded substantially and many of the new recruits, while all naturally quite elite, lack zero-G experience.
(Lose 2 Leverage; reduce cost of all space-based projects by 10R, to a minimum of 5R/die, until the end of Q4 2508)
[] Running Interference
It takes you a minute to figure out what Starke means by "inter-departmental post-clearance liaison," but Smith explains over textcom that what he's functionally offering is assistance in coming up with after-the-fact justification for any of your mildly spicy projects that might run afoul of the Emperor. You can explain anything away with Security, after all.
(Lose 1 Leverage; reduce Paranoia gained each turn by 5, to a minimum gain of 0, until the end of Q4 2508)
After the game has wrapped up and all the other players have gone home, the Emperor takes you aside for a private chat.
"Chuck, I'm proud of what you've accomplished, real proud. All across my Dominion, you can see things moving the way they're supposed to move, people working the way they're supposed to work. I've had a few doubts from time to time, but you've overcome all of them. You've got a knack for this sort of thing, no denying it, and I'm glad I made such a wise choice.
Now, if you'll indulge me, I do have a special favor to ask you. It's going to be a lot, but I know you can handle it, so hear me out. I think you should move to Korhal starting with the new year. No need to relocate Carla just yet, but you and the ministry should get into that brand-new Treasury building they're putting together for you. Give those construction crews a real kick in the ass, like you did your bureaucrats.
I realize all the amenities aren't in place yet and you'll be doing a lot of work from a field tent. But, hell, Chuck, that's the sort of environment where you thrive. And if I know you're there keeping a personal eye on things, I can safely shake loose a little extra help to get things moving. This is all because I trust you, Chuck. You're my guy."
Do you take the deal?
[] Accept the deal
Mengsk asks, Mengsk gets. Not much more to say about it, really. You've lived on MREs before.
(+5 per die to all Korhal projects until the end of Q4 2508 (stacks with
Center of Power); -5 to all other project dice
and Center of Power unavailable until
Korhal: Capital City Augustgrad (Phase 2) is complete)
[] Stick to the original plan
There's uprooting your entire life, and then there's uprooting the lives of a couple thousand people, without advance notice or proper planning. He'll understand if you phrase it right. Probably.
(+20 Paranoia, no change)
Once all is said and done, you have some decisions of your own to make.
Foremost on your mind is the matter of your overcommitted discretionary fund. When you started out, the amount you earmarked was a substantial sum, but now you have multiple demands across the sector tugging on your purse strings. Maybe it would be better to shift the inner office budget over to a percentage-based formula of your overall income, so that it rises and falls with the Treasury's own capacity to fund it. Or, if not, you could keep it at a fixed amount, which would generate less scrutiny, and simply adjust the sum you collect year-by-year. Either way, you're going to need to decide just how much to put into the slush fund.
Do you change the discretionary funding formula?
[] Make it percentage-based
A bold move that will raise a few eyebrows, but possibly a necessary one, if you're going to be running a multi-headed resistance movement out of your own pocket.
(+5 Suspicion, triggers a subvote to determine the percentage used; higher percentages may incur Paranoia)
[] Keep it as a fixed amount
Safer, but inherently much less flexible and unlikely to achieve the same volume of funding you'd get with a percentage-based formula.
(Triggers a subvote to determine the amount used; higher amounts may incur Paranoia)
Leverage starts at
0 1. Each point you gain in excess of what you spend reduces Paranoia by 10. Each point you spend in excess of what you gain increases Paranoia by 10. Aside from that, there's no limit to what you can take on or promise.
Suspicion begins at 5 (the initial gain from the opening fiction) and serves as a hard floor on how far Paranoia can be reduced. At the end of each turn, after all other calculations, if Paranoia is below Suspicion, it will automatically be reset to the same number as Suspicion. Suspicion is more difficult to reduce than Paranoia, and will increase slightly every in-game year.
I'd like people to vote for the budget (including the non-budget elements) in plan format. 24-hour moratorium, then another day or two to vote.
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